NEW DELHI: The Railways has cancelled 42 passenger trains in order to prioritise coal rake movement across the country to deal with a shortage of the vital input at thermal power plants, the national transporter said on Thursday.
While 40 of these trains will remain cancelled till May 24, the other two will be restored by May 8.
The transporter, which has prioritised the movement of coal rakes in the last few weeks, has pushed in 86 per cent of its open wagons towards carrying the essential commodity to the power plants.
"The total number of trains cancelled is 40, which includes previously cancelled trains. Total number of trips cancelled is 1,081, which will remain cancelled till May 24," a spokesperson for the Railways said.
While most of the affected trains (34) are in the South East Central Railway zone, the Northern Railways has cancelled eight trains, two of which will be restored by May 8, he said.
While 26 mail/express trains have been affected, 16 passenger specials or MEMUs have been affected due to the focus on coal movement.
The central government expects the electricity demand to rise this month, and hence, wants to move as much coal as possible to the power production plants in various states.
As per official data, following the cancellations, the Railways has raised the average daily loading of coal rakes to over 400 per day, which is the highest in the past five years.